Really easy trails for families to enjoy with beautiful views of the Mt. Saint Helens blast zone. The Spirit Lake HWY is very scenic with lots of viewpoints to pull over and look upon the valley. It's amazing to look at Coldwater Lake and know it's only 35 years old! Crazy! ^_^ Please be advised there's signage that says "No pets allowed in the national monument EXCEPT in designated areas". I saw a few people having their dog off leash, scaring the wildlife AND not picking up their animal waste. :(

Went for a day with 3 preschool to teenage children and had a great time! The whole family were able to do very easily the The Birth of a Lake which was a great mostly flat trail along boardwalks and very beautiful lakeside and hillside photo ops of the "new" lakes that have formed since the eruption in '80. Very easy and paved trail with some beautiful purple bell flowers in bloom along the trails :) We also really loved Eruption Trail! Great views of Mt. St. Helens and if the clouds are gone a totally unobstructed view as well! Great spots along the way to get "the perfect shot" and is well traveled but still very easy to follow and even hubby who isn't at all in shape can make the relativly steep grade to the top. Well worth the trip! At this moment though, be mindful of "potholes" that have been cut out of the pavement in several places...Other then this, no problems being wheelchair assesable! Mostly you can dodge around but a few toward the top are from one side to the other. My oldest and myself took the Hummack trail! It was a great "first" REAL hike that is about 2 1/2 miles of a loop of trails meandering over and around various hummacks, along streams, ponds and wet land that are the result of the landslides that happened during the eruption. Lots of ups and downs and some areas of flat walking makes for a nice change so as not always up or always going down...Very beautiful views of the nature up close and personal. Great for those wanting to get their feet wet in a long but not too long of a day hike!

We were hoping for better weather and some mountain views when we returned to Mt. St. Helens to close out our camping weekend. And we weren't disappointed! After a nice picnic lunch near the parking lot at Coldwater Lake, we "hiked" the .5-mile Birth of a Lake Trail at the southwestern tip of the lake. A curious green violet sparrow perched and posed for us. Next was the 2.5 mile Hummocks Trail -- great views of Mt. St. Helens and the Toutle River Valley, and good examples of different post-eruption ecosystems. For the best views of the mountain, hike it counter-clockwise by starting at the western edge of the trailhead parking lot, not from the trailhead sign. Next we drove up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory to give our first-time visitors the full experience. The rangers said this was the first view of the mountain they'd had in four days, and they were relieved to have happy visitors again!